Goode rallies for County Medal title

His two-shot lead to start the day was now a two-shot deficit on the back nine.

But Greg Goode, the defending champion at the Saline County Medal, honestly didn’t know much about where he stood on the leaderboard and, truthfully, didn’t feel like he was playing all that poorly.

There were seven players within one shot of the lead as they made the turn during the final round Sunday afternoon at Salina Municipal — four tied for first, another three players one shot back. Among those seven players, it was Goode who played the best over the final nine holes. He ended the day where it began, with a two-stroke margin of victory over runners-up Justin Ahlers, Brooks Brown and Kevin Quinley.

“I lost track where we stood (on the leaderboard),” Goode said. “But that may be a healthy thing for me to do so I can focus on playing.

“On 18, somebody said I had a one-shot lead on three or four guys. I thought ‘I don’t know if I want to know that or not.’”

Who would claim the tourney title was still very much in doubt at the turn, and it never really changed until Goode’s birdie on No. 18 locked up his second consecutive victory. After all groups had completed the 14th hole, there were still seven players within two shots of the lead and it remained that way through holes 15, 16 and 17.

Goode’s three-day total of 68-69-72—209 matches his winning score from a year ago, and the winning score at the County Medal, sponsored by SalinaOrtho, has now been 209 in six of the past eight years. Goode also becomes the 12th player to win multiple Medal titles in the tournament’s 62-year history.

“There’s no doubt that with what he’s been doing at a statewide and nationwide level, and in city tournaments, he’s on his game,” Quinley said of Goode. “When it looks like he might be wavering a little bit, he bounces back and hits some pretty good shots.”

Goode played the front nine Sunday in 3-over 38 and went to 4-over for the day with a three-putt bogey on No. 11.

“I was driving the ball extremely well,” said Goode, who will turn 59 later this month. “I was 14 out of 14 on hitting good drives and then I hit the last 11 greens in regulation.

“When you don’t putt well, it doesn’t look like you are playing well. I had to remind myself that I was playing well. That mindset is something I’ve been working on with Randy Syring and I wouldn’t have won this without him. His lessons and leadership are invaluable.”

Goode’s bogey at No. 11 put him two shots behind Ahlers and in a four-way tie for fourth place. He began his comeback when he nearly holed out for eagle on No. 13 and did make the tap-in putt for his first birdie of the day, then moved back into a tie for first with par on No. 14.

Just as he did in his win a year ago, Goode went in front for good at No. 15. At that point, there were still three players — Tyler Clark, Ahlers and Brown — within one shot of the lead. Quinley moved to one back with a birdie on No. 16, and he was the only player with a stroke of Goode as they came to the 18th teebox.

Quinley was on the front of the green in two on the par 5, 535-yard final hole, but with the pin well in the back, faced a long eagle putt. He ran that putt past the hole, then missed the birdie putt coming back.

“That putt was about as long as you can get on that green,” said Quinley, who estimated the length at more than 50 feet. “I wasn’t going to leave it short and gave it a little too much of a run, but I feel better about that than never giving it a chance.”

Goode drove his second shot through the back of the green and, after Quinley missed the long eagle attempt, knew birdie would be good enough to win. His chip was downhill with not a lot of room to work with, but he got it within a couple of feet and made the putt for his second birdie of the day.

“I didn’t have a very good lie on that chip,” Goode said. “I kind of dug it out but was fortunate it had a lot of topspin and finished close to the hole.”

Ahlers began the day four shots off the lead and was playing in the group in front of Goode. He made the turn at 1-under 34 and was one of the four players tied for the lead at that point. His birdie at No. 11 put him alone in first, one shot in front of Quinley and Bill Roberts.

“It’s always a little different when you aren’t playing in that last group,” Ahlers said. “But then you hear through the spectators where everybody is standing and you really don’t do anything different. You still have got to hit the shots.

“I played with Greg yesterday and knew he was pretty solid, so I was pretty surprised when we found out on the back nine we had a chance.”

Brown finished tied for second for the third time in the last four years and his 69 made him the only player in the championship flight to shoot under par in the final round. He started the day five shots off the lead and tied for seventh, but had a share of first place after a 2-under on the front nine.

“My goal was to try to make as many birdies as I could, and obviously I would have liked to make a few more,” Brown said. “My goal was to put a little pressure on the leaders but came up a little short at the end.

“I hit it really well. I hit probably 15 greens but couldn’t get the putts to fall.”

Roberts and Coleman Houk tied for fifth with three-day totals of 212, with Tyler Clark, who was also tied for the lead at the turn, finishing seventh at 213.

Dupy top woman

Megan Dupy began the final round with an eight-shot lead in the women’s division and maintained that after the final 18 holes. Her three-day total of 77-78-74—229 was eight shots in front of defending champion Cindy MacDonald.

Durr top senior

Doug Durr had a final round 66 and three-day total of 208 to win the senior division by 12 shots over defending champion Dick Jensen.